78 TALES OF PINK AND SILK. 



Stride : it was only by ignominiously hanging round his 

 horse's neck that dissolution of partnership was avoided. 



But nothing comes amiss to the bearded stranger, whose 

 horse, handled with the skill and judgment of a perfect 

 horseman, is fencing beautifully. Straight through the 

 Willingham plantations the the pack drives without a 

 check, and in a few more fields are seen racing down the 

 meadows that fringe the bank of the river Thissendine, 

 whose waters are rushing down at no mean pace after the 

 recent heavy rains. 



" Yonder he goes ! " cries Lord Healingborough, as he 

 views the fox toiling painfully up a hedge side, a good field 

 to the right. " We shall have to go to Nixon's bridge, Cis, 

 so come on." 



The hounds have now crossed the river, and havins" 

 shaken themselves, are casting themselves up and down the 

 bank, but all to no purpose ; and the stream having carried 

 the exhausted fox some distance down before he could effect 

 a landing, they failed to hit off his line. The Master has 

 gone off with the rest to Nixon's bridge, while the whip is 

 trying to force his horse into the water. But see ! that 

 stranger in the tweed suit is already half-way across, gains 

 the opposite bank in less time than this has taken to write, 

 and is calling the old hounds to him by name. He had 

 waited to see if the hounds had really crossed or not, and 

 realising that not a moment was to be lost if they wished to 

 kill their fox before he reached the earths, little more than a 

 mile away, leapt his horse into the river Avithout delay. 



The whip starts as he hears the voice : " By Gad, it's the 

 old Master ! " he cries. " Get away to him, hounds ! get 

 away on for'ard ! " and being himself successful in crossing 

 at last, is soon galloping to the stranger's assistance. But 

 before he can get there the hounds have flown to the holloa, 

 and having been lifted a field forward, hit off the line with 



